Wife can't claim maintenance solely because she chose to live abroad: Bombay HC
NEW DELHI: The Bombay high court has rejected a woman's plea for interim maintenance of Rs 1 lakh a month from her estranged husband, ruling that simply saying life is expensive abroad is not, on its own, a good enough reason to get maintenance and especially when the person asking for it is a qualified professional who already earns a good income.Why did the wife seek Rs 1 lakh maintenance?The wife's divorce plea had been partly allowed by a Pune family court in 2023 — the marriage was dissolved, but her claim for permanent alimony was rejected.
She challenged that refusal in an appeal before the high court, and while it was pending, filed a separate interim application seeking Rs 1 lakh a month as interim maintenance.She argued that her income, though steady, was insufficient to match the lifestyle she enjoyed during the marriage, especially given the high cost of living in the US, where she has resided since 2011.
Her counsel also pointed to the husband's assets — including multiple properties in Pune — to argue he could afford to pay.The husband opposed this, submitting that the wife has been financially independent for years, earning more than him at various points, and that he already bears the cost of their elder son's education abroad along with his elderly, retired parents.Why the high court rejected her pleaA bench comprising Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Manjusha Deshpande noted that the wife is "a qualified professional, residing abroad since last 15 years, who has brought up two children single-handedly," and that she currently earns a gross monthly salary of USD 8,700 with a net pay of over USD 6,100, as shown by her own salary records.The bench held that her "only excuse is that she is living under extreme financial strain due to exorbitant cost of living abroad," and found "no favour in her reason for claiming interim maintenance" on that basis."In our view, this cannot be a ground for claiming interim maintenance during the pendency of the family court appeal.
The applicant is a qualified professional, residing abroad since last 15 years, who has brought up two children single-handedly. Even presently, she has more than sufficient income at her disposal, which is proved from the documents placed on record by the applicant herself," the bench held.The court explained that maintenance under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act is meant only for a spouse who has no independent income or means to support themselves and cover the cost of the legal proceedings.
The idea behind the law, the court said, is to make sure the weaker spouse isn't left financially helpless while fighting the case — not to guarantee someone the same standard of living they're used to, no matter how much they themselves earn."Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 contemplates grant of interim maintenance, pending the matrimonial proceedings.
The Section itself contemplates that if the Respondent, be it wife or husband has no independent, sufficient means for his or her support and the necessary expenses of the proceedings, the respondent shall pay to the petitioner the expenses of proceedings and monthly expenses of such sum having regard to petitioner's own income and income of respondent," the court observed.Since the wife's own documents showed she had more than sufficient income at her disposal, the court held she had "failed to make out a case for grant of her prayer," and dismissed the interim application."The very object of Section 24 is that, the financially weaker party should be able to defend the proceedings ably and is not left in a vulnerable financial position throughout the proceedings.
In view of the scope of Section 24, in our view, the Applicant has failed to make out a case for grant of her prayer in the Application. Hence, the Interim Application seeking interim maintenance is rejected," it further added.